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Miguel Rivera
Miguel Rivera 'is the protagonist of the film, ''Coco. Background Early life It is revealed in the novelization that Miguel was a baby, his Mamá Coco would hold him and hum to him while Rosa would be too preoccupied to notice their great grandmother's singing. She found he had been trying to sing along. Coco found that baby Miguel had the same musical feeling like her father. So, Miguel gained a love of music, which differentiated himself from the rest of his family Though Miguel became a skilled guitarist and singer, he never performed in front of people. Miguel hid his enthusiasm from the rest of the family and worked in the family shop as a shoe shiner, even making the attic a hideout. His hideout was also used by Coco when she was younger, and it was a place where both of them could escape from their family's expectations. Almost every year, Miguel was told of how his great-great-grandmother, Imelda had banned music after her husband had left to raise her daughter, Coco alone. At an unknown point, Miguel adopted the street dog, Dante, as a pet, naming after Ernesto de la Cruz's horse Physical Description Through most of the movie, Miguel is a twelve-year-old boy with short, messy black hair and brown eyes. Though his height is not explicitly stated, Miguel is about at his grandmother's height and comes up to at least Hector's shoulder. He wears a red hoody, white tank top and blue jeans and brown boots. For a brief time in the movie, Héctor applies black and white shoe polish to Miguel's face to make him look like a skeleton. As such, Miguel has black shoe polish around his eyes and on his nose while the rest of his face is painted with white. At the end of the film, Miguel wears a white shirt and retains his jeans and boots. Miguel later wears a red mariachi uniform and red sombrero Personality Miguel is a dreamer, wishing to follow his heart in singing and playing the guitar. He is a kind-hearted twelve-year-old boy who loves his family dearly. Having a passion for music, Miguel keeps it hidden from the rest of the family. The only ones aware of it are his great-grandmother, Coco, and Dante. He shares the passion of music with his Papa Héctor and Mama Imelda. At the end of his journey, Miguel has learned that family is more important, even to music. He is able to retain his love for both of them when restoring Héctor's memories and getting his family to lifting the ban on music. However, deep down, Miguel is a very familial person, as he doesn't like arguing with his family or likes his grandparents' wrath. He wrote "Proud Corazon" to show his love for his family, evident by the lyrics, "Our love for each other will live on forever. It should be noted that Miguel used to have a fear performing in front of others However, he gave up the fear after his grandfather, Héctor, advised how to get rid of his nerves. Miguel is also stubborn, noted during his argument with Imelda that they were both stubborn in being both for and against music respectively. Later, during the book, A Story About Music Shoes, and Family, Imelda notes that Miguel is the most stubborn boy she ever met. The deceased Riveras claim that the stubborn nature is something he inherited from Mamá Imelda. Miguel showed kindness towards others, especially towards Dante, a stray dog and feeding him treats even when the dog can't do the trick Miguel wants him to do. Also, like his great-great-grandfather, Miguel is a well-meaning boy who helps others, such as agreeing to put up Hector's photo when he returned to the Land of the Living. A defiant and kind boy, Miguel loves his family and his friends and willingly would go to the ends of the earth to save them. For example, even during a scuffle between the Riveras and the security guards, he immediately assaulted the security guard who was attacking his Mama Imelda. After learning Hector would be forgotten and that he was his great-great-grandfather, Miguel wanted to save Hector from suffering the Final Death by helping Mama Coco remember the lullaby he sung her. Miguel was also a key role in mending Imelda and Hector's relationship, as he revealed Imelda that Hector was trying to return home to her and Coco but De la Cruz murdered him before she could get home. Miguel even encouraged Imelda to sing and Hector to playing the guitar, which in turn, ignited a romantic spark between Héctor and Imelda. Miguel is also quite resourceful and witty, being able to come up with plans, especially when going to steal back Hector's photo from Ernesto. Back then Miguel used to idolize Ernesto de la Cruz until he was the one who murdered Hector for his own songs. He learned to be the true musician from Hector, his true great-great-grandfather, and embraced both his love for music and the love he held for his family. Though defiant, rambunctious, and stubborn, Miguel is a boy who loves his family very much. In the end, he has also become a proud older brother to his younger sister, Socorro, proudly telling her all about their family. Abilities Miguel is a talented guitarist and singer. He taught himself how to play the guitar watching the de la Cruz movies, as he hits the right notes beautifully. Miguel's family later is amused when he plays the guitar, getting the skills from his Papá Héctor. He is also quick-witted in coming up with plans Miguel is also very fast on his feet, being able to evade Pepita and the security at Marigold Central Station. Possessions * '''Photograph of Héctor, Imelda and Coco: Miguel owned the photo of his great-great-grandparents and great-grandmother. He took the photo with him when he angrily ran away from his family. It was later restored on the family ofrenda. Role in the film Films Additional Appearances Short Films ''Un Poco Coco'' Miguel appears in the short "Un Poco Coco," usually involved in scenes with Dante, Hector or his family ''Dante's Lunch'' Miguel appears in the short, briefly when Dante is chasing after a skeleton's bone. Printed Material Coco: A Story About Music, Shoes and Family Coco: Miguel and the Grand Harmony Video Games Miguel has also appeared in Disney Emoji Blitz, Relationships * Héctor - great-great-grandfather * Imelda - great-great-grandmother * Enrique Rivera - father * Luisa Rivera - mother * Socorro Rivera - sister Quotes Songs Duets *"Un Poco Loco" *"The World Es Mi Familia" *"Remember Me (Lullaby)" (sung with his great-grandmother) Solos *"Proud Corazón" Trivia General *During the events of the film, Miguel is twelve years old and thirteen in the epilogue. *In-universe, Miguel was the one who wrote "Proud Corazon." *Miguel is Pixar's first Hispanic human protagonist for a full-length feature film and one of the five protagonists to be a human, along with Mr. Incredible, Carl Fredricksen, Merida, and Elastigirl. *Second youngest Pixar protagonist, before Arlo from The Good Dinosaur *Middle child of the Rivera cousin. *According to his relatives, Miguel's foot size is 6 1/2, and pronated. *Miguel has one dimple on one side of his cheek and no dimple on the other and has a beauty mark above his lip, traits he shares with Héctor. **The dimples characteristic is also something Anthony Gonzalez has. *The novelization reveals a bit about Miguel: **His great-grandmother sung to him when he was a baby. **Miguel hates being teased at by his cousins, Rosa and Abel, wishing they would take his side for a change. **He has a distant cousin who wasted all his money for a tuba, only to have nothing during the cold winter. **Miguel is said to resemble his great-grandfather, Papá Julio, when he was younger. **The hide out he used to be the same one Coco used to get away from their family's expectations. **His younger sister, Socorro is named after their great-grandmother. Pixar References *Miguel is seen hearing the music coming off of a Pizza Planet car as it drives by his house. *While Miguel is passing town, he passes piñata versions of Woody and Buzz from Toy Story and Mike Wazowski from Monsters Inc. *Miguel's last name, Rivera, is a reference to film producer Jonas Rivera, who consulted on Up and Inside Out. *As Miguel and Hector walk through the streets, an Incredibles logo is seen. Production Information *Originally, the film was going to be about Miguel (then named Marco) coping over the death of his mother. However, the idea was scrapped when the movie lost its true meaning of Día de Los Muertos. *Later, while still as Marco, later took Ernesto's guitar with him in the land of the Dead. Before the concept of a family's blessing, it was the use of the Guitar that let him cross the Marigold Bridge. Also, instead of being nearly thrown off the building, Ernesto destroyed Hector's Guitar to ensure that Miguel remains trapped. As Imelda and Hector comfort their great great grandson, Miguel's family are able to repair the guitar, allowing Miguel to escape with Ernesto hot on his trail. **The boy is able to escape. The idea was ultimately scrapped. *Miguel had to cross the Marigold bridge before the last flower petal fell. *Also at another point, Miguel met Héctor on a bus when Hector was a tour guide and receives help from him. Later the two would be attacked by Pepita. **In the final film, instead, Miguel and Hector meet at Marigold Grand Central station, and first encountered Pepita when found by Imelda. *Originally Miguel was going to only play the guitar and not sing. However, when it was revealed that Anthony could sing, it was decided his character could sing as well. *Miguel's design was inspired by two real-life kids who were Emilio Fuentes (who provided the original scratch voice for Miguel while the movie was in development) and Adriel Arriaga (the son of a character designer) Appearances Films * Coco Books * Coco (Little Golden Book) *''Coco: A Story About Music, Shoes and Family'' *''Miguel and the Amazing Alebrijes'' * Coco: The Junior Novelization Video Games *Disney Emoji Blitz *Disney Magical Dice *LEGO the Incredibles *Kingdom Hearts Union χ (medal) *Disney Heroes: Battle Mode Category:Male characters Category:Characters Category:Rivera family Category:Coco (film) characters Category:Coco: A Story About Music, Shoes and Family characters Category:Book characters Category:Film characters